Before you being making the ice cream, zest, juice and then dice the tangerines (see measurements in the ingredient list). Set aside.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use an electric mixer or a whisk, to whip the egg yolks with the sugar. Mix until it's very thick and is pale yellow. When you drizzle it, it should rest for a moment before sinking into the rest of the mixture -- this is called the "ribbon stage." This will likely take several minutes.

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and scald it over medium heat. Tiny bubbles will appear on the edges of the pot and it should be very hot, but not boiling. Remove it from the heat to cool a bit.

Very gradually pour about 1/4 of the slightly cooled milk into the egg-sugar mixture, and blend with a whisk until it's evenly combined. Repeat this one more time. Then pour all of this back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until it becomes a beautiful, thick custard, about 6 minutes. It's done when it coats the back of the spoon. (Be very careful not to overcook this -- once you notice it becoming thicker, it's nearly there. If you leave it too long it will curdle.) When it's done, remove it from the heat immediately and let it cool for 15 minutes or so.

Now, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the zest, juice, Mascarpone and vanilla together. Then slowly whisk this mixture into the custard.

Let this cool, stirring from time to time, for about 2 hours.

Pour into an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and ideally overnight.

Freeze according to your ice cream machine's directions.

Stir in the diced tangerine and mini chocolate chips.

For a soft ice cream, you can serve it at this point. Or you can freeze it until you're ready -- it should become firm within about 6 hours.

Notes

If your finished ice cream has been frozen for a while, let it sit out for a bit to soften before serving.

If you want to serve this ice cream in the super cute Ojai Pixie "cups," cut about 2-inches off the top and use a paring knife to carefully remove the fruit. If you're going to do this -- do it before you begin, so you can use this fruit to dice and add to the ice cream.

Hi Valentina! I just stumbled upon your blog. (Isn’t the internet fun that way?) Anyway, this recipe looks amazing. I love ice cream and haven’t made any in a while, and the tangerines have been so awesome this year (I live in SoCal too). Hope you are enjoying your weekend. xo, Alison